I love my dog, 6 years old, about 50 lbs. he’s sweet and wonderful. But. He insists on going outside 4-5 times a day to go pee because he never goes all the way to empty his bladder. He’ll insist on finding a ‘good’ smelling area and will wet there, quit, and even if there is a block longer on our walk he’ll stay full until we get home only to insist on going back out a short while longer.
How do I deal with this? I’m a city apartment dweller and have to put on full winter gear and go outside with him so it’s becoming a frustration of mine.
4-5 times a day is very normal. And it also sounds like he needs longer walks. Not sure what breed you have but dogs should ideally have around 30-50 minute walks 4-5 times a day. As for the smelling areas, they’re looking for territory marking spots. Walks are like the news for dogs. They’ll smell around finding what other dogs have been there and leave marks of their own.
Your dog’s behavior is very typical, and it doesn’t sound like the dog needs to change, but rather that it does need more walks. If you are a very busy person, I’d suggest occasionally hiring a dogwalker. The winter cold is unfortunately just something that comes with having dogs.